£1000 Surround Amp or £1000 Stereo Amp for HI FI music?

[admin_exported]

I want to upgrade my Onkyo 605. Through this amp I watch my films and listen to my stereo music.

I know you cannot beat a dedicated stereo Amp for stereo music, but what would a 5 star £1000 Surround amp in stereo mode, be compared to if it were a HI FI amp for music quality?

 

[simonlewis]

It depends whats more important to you, a £1000 reciever will be better at movies & tv, & a £1000 sterio amp will be better at music.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I appreciate that. What would a £1000 Cinema Amp be compared to if it were just a hi fi amp. I have read that the Yamaha DSP-AX863SE in stereo mode can give £1000 receivers a run for their money!!!

 

[Anonymous]

why do you want to upgrade it?

if its just music why dont you just keep it and then demo stereo amps till you find one that meets what youre looking for?

 

[Anonymous]

Ok.

But if I want to listen to just music, I will have to keep swapping the speaker wires from the cinema amp to the Hi Fi won't I??

And then back again to watch a film? Or is there another way to swap between the two?

 

[matthewpiano]

Does the 605 have pre-outs??

If so, buy yourself a really good stereo amp and connect it to the pre-outs on the Onkyo for the front L and R channels.

 

[Anonymous]

I am a bit new to this. How does that work please if connected to the pre outs? What cables would I need. Will it affect the sound quality?

 

[Dave_]

The 605 doesn't have front left+right pre-outs!

 

[matthewpiano]

OK. Buy a new surround amp that has pre-outs and a new stereo amp. You will then connect the pre-outs for the main left and right channels to the stereo amp using standard rca/phono cables. The stereo amp will drive the front channel, leaving the surround amp to drive the rest.

I'd suggest looking at combining a Cambridge Audio 740C stereo amp (which will work very well with your Mezzos) with Cambridge's 640R 7.1 receiver. You'll get much better stereo performance and easily equal, and possibly surpass, the performance of your existing Onkyo for surround duties whilst combining the two systems in one.

 

[tonky]

the cambridge 840A v2 amp is great for music and also sounds very good when used for listening to tv and dvd movies etc - only 2 channel I know - but it is very flexible and natural sounding.

give it a listen - you wont be disappointed. tonky